Off the Wall
by The No one
Summary: Sequal to "You Are Mine". Isabella and the Fireside Girls take game one, but what happens when the teams are split up into pairings of PxI FxG BxB? Also, Perry fights doof and attempts to stop his plans regarding the machine built by Phineas and Ferb.
1. Chapter 1

**Off the Wall: Chapter 1**

**This story is a sequel to "You Are Mine". If you have not read that story, this one will make very little sense. Besides, it's a great story. :)**

**On to the story! Remember, italics are thoughts.**

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><p>Phineas was about to send the group through the warp tunnel when he heard a familiar voice pierce the air.<p>

"Waiiiiitttt! Hold up, don't start!" It was Baljeet.

Phineas opened the glass compartment and stepped out onto the soft grass. "What is it Baljeet?" Phineas noticed Buford was carrying him by the collar.

Buford answered for him. "We want another shot at this game, with fair teams maybe? My friends didn't want to play again, which is okay with me. They were just terrible."

"Ha, I couldn't agree more on that point. You came just in the nick of time. As it turns out, most of the fireside girls quit as well. We have two teams with two players each. If you and Baljeet played, then each team would still have two people."

"Great, we're in!"

"Okay then, just step back into the glass over there with the rest of the players while I go put you two on the game roster."

Buford and Baljeet did that, taking seats next to Ferb who simply nodded a greeting. Phineas added Buford and Baljeet as a 3rd team and told the computer to make 3 bases instead of two. Then he proceeded to the glass enclosure. "Hold on everyone, these are always wild rides." Phineas input the commands for initiation. The machine squeeled and rocked and the minds of those inside phased out into the warp tunnel.

Now that the transformation was not new, it was not as cool. It was still cool, just less cool.

Isabella still could not help but unintentionally emit an emotion of amazement and respect.

Isabella was about to try and open her eyes when she remembered that she didn't have any eyes at the moment. And yet, she couldn't help feeling that she could see.

An image flashed across her mind. Then another. A series of them, strung together by the brain. She gasped as emotions of sadness came with the image. "_What was that? Phineas, did you see that?"_

"_Yes, I most definately saw that."_

_"What was it? Why was it so dark? Why am I shuddering inside?"_

_"My dream... that was my dream. How..."_

_"Phineas, what dream?"_

_"Phineas, I saw nothing." _projected Ferb.

_"Neither did I..." _was Baljeet.

"_Are you two okay? I never saw anything either..." _came Gretchen.

"_Impossible, how did we see it? But none of you saw it. All thoughts are shared, and it was a powerful thought. You would have noticed it if you saw it."_

_"It must not have been a thought then Phineas..."_

Phineas knew his brother was right. It wasn't a thought. But what was it?

The thoughts of all were cut off abruptly as the travel through space-time dimensions landed them in their bases.

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><p>(Starting with the perspecitve of Phineas and Isabella)<p>

Isabella felt like she fell out of a pool of water and slid into a realm of normality. She fell on her hip hard and rolled off to the side to try and lessen the impact. But it was no use. Her left leg was already paralyzed.

Phineas was a bit more lucky. He formulated into the same realm and landed square on his two feet, sticking the landing. He half expected to hear applause before scolding his unusual notion and turning to look for Isabella. Some muttering 220 degrees around gave away her position.

"Oh come on! Maybe you put that physical limit rule a bit too strict? My left leg is completely useless, thanks to that unfriendly impact after the strange trip here."

"Hmmm... That is too bad. You must have taken a very hard hit. Well, there is no use going around by myself. I can't just leave you like this, and I won't. Besides, we have a lot to talk about."

"Ho! You got that right! I want to know everything. This paralyzed leg should heal in about an hour, right? Because of the new rule? Yeah, so we have that long to discuss this."

"I was so confused in there... How could the rest not hear it if we both saw it."

"Wait... Phineas. Just, stop. Stop talking."

"_What is she talking about? Now is not the time..."_

"Yes! Exactly what I heard. Now is the time! You said that now, didn't you?"

Phineas was suspicious. "No, I never said such a thing."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Think of a number between 0 and 24068. Think it loudly."

"_This is crazy..."_

"This is not crazy, Phineas. Think of a number."

"_What! Fine. 5318" "_Okay, what number was I thinking of Isabella?"

Isabella lifted her head high and smiled. "The number 5318."

Phineas was struck back. He staggered back into a cold, merciless wall of steel. He attempted to move through it because he felt like he had enough energy of impossibleness flowing through him that he mind as well try anything. But alas, the wall held its ground firm, and Phineas came back to the situation, slowly at first.

"I... I don't belive it. This is a dream. We are still in the tunnel. That's it."

"Phineas, wake up! This is neither of those. We are playing the game. See my leg? I can't move it. You know why? Because we are playing the game and we are not in the tunnel."

"_What is her..."_

"No problem. I don't have a problem. You need to come back to reality and know that somehow I have full acess to everything that is in your brain."

Phineas thought deeply, trying to think ambiguously with a hidden message that Isabella would miss. He basically came up with the idea of understanding.

"Not sure what all those vague thoughts were about, but I think you understand my point now."

Phineas, already forgetting her power, went on to think, "_Haha, success! That's what I can do."_ It brought a wry smile from Isabella and a sheepish shrug of the shoulders from Phineas.

"Why can't I read your thoughts? You know everything about me by now, why can't I get in there?" asked Phineas with a point of his finger at her head.

"Maybe you haven't tried hard enough. Okay, i'm thinking of a number. Which one is it?"

Phineas dug deep inside, following all paths of mental traffic. He searched thoroughly in his mind, and could feel Isabella prodding him as well. He tried to follow the prods, but the paths fizzled out and his train of thought would become derailed.

"_I am close, so close. Come on!"_

"You are close. My mind is blocking you though. Keep trying, you will get through eventually."

Phineas continued trying for the remainder of the hour.

Eventually he was successful. Isabella had a similar reaction as Phineas, except her leg was not fully operational.

"Wow, what a weird feeling." said Phineas. "I can hear your thoughts."

"_Why even bother talking. We could just communicate with our thoughts."_

_"My dream. Should I try communicating it to you?"_

_"Sure, if you can."_

Phineas tried, but failed. He simply could not. The thought would not come to him.

"_Why are you having difficulty?" _asked Isabella through thought.

"_It doesn't exist. I can't think it. Ferb must have been right. It wasn't a thought, which would explain why my mind is devoid of the event."_

Isabella stood up, her leg completely healed. "_Now that that is out of the way, we can start with our game."_

"_I wonder if the other players have this ability. If not we have an incredible advantage."_

_"Oh, I doubt they do. Our bonding of our relationship in the previous game must have melded us together."_

Phineas was silent for several moments. "_You know, that isn't actually such a bad idea. That may be the cause. Perhaps this odd power we have will carry over into the real world..."_

_"I sort of hope not. I think I would like the privacy of my own mind."_

_"Yeah, I agree. No offense. Now, let's turn our minds toward crushing our power-less opponents."_

_"Ha, this won't even be hard at all." _agreed Isabella.

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><p><strong>Alright! Chapter 1 is done! I hope this was a nice mind-intriguing chapter to kick off the story. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed "You Are Mine", and I am proud to say that I got about 3 awsome ideas that will make this story even better.<strong>

**Next chapter: more game events and the introduction of the doof/perry plot.**

**Don't go anywhere, stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**After some thinking, I have decided to answer reviews before the story. This way, if you have any questions I will be able to answer them before you start reading.**

**Sorry for not posting in a while, but I intend on finishing this story. I just returned from Florida.**

**Zorua: Nice, first review! Thanks for the review, and we don't know for sure that everyone will get pwned, right? :P**

**BearerOfStupidity: If you reviewed regularly, that would be fantastic! That would make me so happy. About your rule suggestion, they actually can make limited bullet-proof vests. I guess they never thought about it (or me). Thanks again! Hope to see some more.**

**dbzgtfan2004: Thanks, I will most certainly continue. I agree, Phineas and Isabella forever.**

**TheAllySue: Ha, that is an interesting thought. People would think they are insane if they started hearing voices in their head. Thanks for reviewing, despite your lack of energy!**

**the front line commander(): Wow, awesome. I'm pleased that you find the stories entertaining. I can't wait to write this coming chapter! Thank you much!**

**Okay, now onto the real story! Just as a word of warning, this story is going to become intricate and complex. It will be necessary for you to ask a question if you don't understand! I will do my best to explain everything when things need to be explained. Okay? Great.**

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><p>"Agent P, agent P! Come in agent P! Darn it, hurry up and get down to the lair. Where are you?"<p>

Perry was stretched on his back, enjoying the warm summer sun in the backyard. He was annoyed that Major Monogram called him now, especially since he was keeping a close eye on the contraption his owners built. Regardless, Perry stretched his limbs, got up and moved to a tree in the yard. He quickly made sure no one was looking before standing up, putting on his hat, and stepping into the transport tube that opened up. He slid around the crazy design of the tubes until finally landing on his comfy seat. Looking up, Perry waited for his instructions.

First the screen bleeped before a screen appeared, showing a stern and fretted Major Monogram.

"Agent P, thank goodness you're hear. We have been monitoring Dr. D's recent evil activity, and are quite surprised at our intelligence reports. Apparently, he has been monitoring your owners, Phineas and Ferb, and there contraptions. Most of the time, he has thought nothing of them except that they are marvelous. However, we have noticed that he is taking a special interest in their most recent project. We want you to go over there, find out what he wants with it, and put a stop to it. Good luck agent P!"

Perry saluted first, and then turned to a nearby pipe. He opened it and climbed in, not enjoying the stench. It was a sewer pipe. He swam through the sewer until he was up the right pipe in doof's apartment. He came up and out of the toilet, sprung on the ground in a ready position. There was nobody in the bathroom, so Perry reached for the door. A step after opening it, he slipped on a soap bar and flew out of the bathroom, finally colliding with a table and the floor.

"Ahhh, Perry the platypus. You are just in time to witness my new evil scheme." The voice sounded strange to Perry who was still dazed and stunned from his fiasco with the soap bar. "You see, I have been watching this certain machine built right here in this neighborhood that has far more ingenuity than what I could put into one of mine. The greatest part about it is that the creators are totally unaware of the evil potential it holds!"

Perry knew the machine well, it was most certainly the one located in the backyard. He was still too dazed to try and do anything, mostly to the amusement of the doctor.

"What is quite amazing about it is that the machine is running tests on the world it really is in, and then applying them to the game. However, the machine is becoming increasingly knowledgeable, and has most likely begun test on the human brain, as well as the concept of time. Now, combining the fact that you can create anything you want in the fake world with the facts of the real world, you can find out what is necessary for certain concepts, for example, mind control! And that is only the beginning."

Perry was most certainly confused. It didn't matter, however, if the doctor was right or wrong. Whatever he was planning would probably be a danger to his owners and friends.

"I don't have much time, however. Games don't last very long, and I had better make it quick. So long Perry the Platypus!" Doof pressed a button, releasing his floating transport system. Without so much as another word, he went on his way, blasting off towards Perry's home.

Perry, who wasn't dazed anymore, did not feel so well. Whatever was going to happen was not going to be good. Then he thought, "_Why did he even bother to tell me all of that if he was in such a hurry?"_

He got up and went to an open window. Activating his hang-gliding contraption, he turned toward his home and leapt out of the window.

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><p>It was now Ferb and Gretchen's turn to fall out of the tunnel. They slid out as if they were coming out of a plastic slide, landing on top of each other. Embarrassed, Ferb stood up and extended a hand to Gretchen. She, equally embarrassed, accepted the gesture and was raised up to her feet.<p>

Suddenly, Ferb took a few steps back, holding the sides of his head with his hands.

"What's the matter? You shouldn't be feeling any pain..." Gretchen seemed genuinely concerned while placing a hand gently on his arm.

Ferb was experiencing terrible pains rolling through his brain. He tried to understand why, but the pain was preventing him from thinking anything different than what he was already thinking.

Eventually the pain subsided, and Ferb took a seat on the cold floor. "Are you getting the feeling that something is happening to us while we play this game?"

"No, not really. This place is so amazing, it's hard to focus on much else," replied Gretchen. "I never gave it much thought I guess."

"That's okay, but that wave… it gave me the feeling that something was reading my memories. I didn't like it at all, it was quite creepy…"

After Gretchen did not say anything, Ferb decided to continue. "I think we should find the other teams and stop this game."

This came as a shock to Gretchen. "Really? It was that bad?" She kicked the floor, stubbing her toe, and noticed the lack of pain. She knew that Ferb would not fake anything, and that it must be real. "Despite the fact that I really wanted to play, I understand. We can set off immediately if you like."

Ferb walked out of the room and went into the developer's room. He stared down the small piece of shimmering Rock. "We will have to use this piece here to find another team. I would suggest that we find Phineas and Isabella first, since Phineas will understand what I am talking about more than Buford or Baljeet. After all, we did create this machine and know it better than anyone else."

Gretchen followed slowly into the room, really noticing for the first time that they were alone. She tried to ignore the emotions that came with the thought. "That sounds okay to me, but what do we make?"

Ferb took a step backwards, extending his hand and pointing at the small scanner attached to the table.

Gretchen laughed amusingly. "All right, all right, I'll see what I can do."

She put her hand on the scanner and prepared to think. She stood still for nearly a minute with Ferb waiting patiently for the sparks to fly. Then, as Ferb looked away, the table shook with great might and blasted the pair backwards. Blinding light shot forth from the table and The Rock melted into shape. On the table lay 2 pairs of silver boots.

"That never gets old…" said Ferb standing up. He went to the table with a curious nature and examined the boots. He noticed there was still a very small bit of Rock left. A silent Gretchen appeared next to him in which he did not even take notice. When she spoke it startled him.

"The first few ideas I had were too large for this small amount of Rock that was given to us. This should do, don't you think?"

"Ummm, what exactly are they? Rocket boots?" asked Ferb, puzzled.

"That's precisely correct. They are rocket boots. They run on Rock power." She picked up part of the remaining Rock, split it in half, and put each half in a small compartment located on the side of each boot. "Do the same," she instructed. Ferb, feeling awkward, did so.

"They are supposed to turn on when you want them to. Let's see if they…" Before she could finish speaking, the boots activated and shot her into the air. Near the ceiling she hovered for a few moments, trying to figure out how to work them. "Wow! These are so cool. Come on, try them out!" she encouraged.

Ferb used them, and found them to be quite extraordinary. "Really nice design Gretchen, they work flawlessly."

Gretchen blushed a little, but hid it in her motion of turning off her boots and falling to the floor. "We should probably save the rock on these things, don't you think?"

"Yes. Now, let's find our way out of here."

They went into the main room with the cages and promptly found their exit. But the exit astonished them incredibly. It was a panel in the floor, with a button under a flap that needed to be pressed to open it. Ferb fumbled with the flap and pressed the button. The panel swooped aside, showing a solid view of blue.

"It's the…" started Ferb.

"…Sky?" finished Gretchen.

They looked at each other before looking back into the hole. "This should be fun! Good thing we have these trusty rocket boots, hey?"

Gretchen wasn't as brave. "I don't know about this, we can't even see the ground, it's just a bunch of clouds."

"Just hang onto me and we'll be okay."

Still partially unconvinced, she clung to his arm, and they jumped through the panel. Gretchen couldn't help screaming a little, and their velocities were increasing rapidly until they finally reached terminal velocity.

They flew through the clouds quickly, eventually breaking through the seemingly endless amounts of white fluff. Ferb couldn't help but say a word of admiration. They were lower to the ground then Ferb expected, but they could still see the whole map.

"It's really quite amazing that our base is floating in a bunch of clouds. We could sit in there and never be found."

Gretchen didn't even hear him, and was felling a little lightheaded as it was.

After some time, they reached a point where they felt it was necessary to use their rocket boots. They let a little thrust out a first, but then realized it would take a lot more thrust to slow their fall.

Gretchen let go of Ferb's arm and slowed herself to a stop as she stepped on the ground rather wobbly. Ferb's knees buckled on his landing, which caused Gretchen to unleash some laughter. Ferb stood up sheepishly and gave her a playful punch on the arm.

They had landed in a beautiful grassy plain, with a few scattered trees offering their diminutive amounts of shade compared to the sun-covered fields.

"Which direction should we look first?" asked Ferb.

"I chose what to make with The Rock; it's your turn to choose."

Ferb closed his eyes and spun around, eventually picking a random direction. Gretchen smiled amusingly and watched his curious actions.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I don't think so; give me another minute to put myself back together."

Ferb nodded and sat down in the grass. A gentle breeze blew the soft grass. If there were any doubts they were gone; they were getting along just fine.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry this is so short for the long break, but I think it's better than nothing. I hope you all have kept faith in me and this story. If you have forgotton what has been going on, I encourage you to re-read some prevoius chapters. You don't have to of course. Enjoy!**

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><p>Baljeet and Buford wasted no time. "Buford, remember the plan. We rush them; I will find them and then the rest is up to you!"<p>

"Yes, very good. I can't think at all right now, my head hurts and I can't seem to get this old tune out of my head. The drum beat is most fascinating..."

"No time for that Buford, let's go."

Baljeet dashed ahead while Buford plodded behind steadily. Baljeet grabbed the piece of Rock given to them at the start and raced through the headquarters room and down the hall toward the exit. At the end, he found a door and opened it rapidly. He stared out of it in amazement. Baljeet was looking at the bottom of a lake, but none of the water was coming in. Upon further inspection, Baljeet noticed that there was a sort of goo plastered over the opening. He stuck his hand through the goo and wiggled his fingers in the water.

"Check it out Buford! It's like a force field that stops water from coming in but lets people pass through."

Buford simply nodded his head, which he was holding with both hands, and elbowed his way rudely past Baljeet. He stepped through the forcefield, aligned himself in the water, and swam to the surface. Baljeet followed his lead, and noticed the fact that he seemed to be able to breathe comfortably despite the fact he was completely submerged in water. At the surface, he found that it was a really small lake, about the size of a little pond, and that he could swim easily to the shore, which was covered in snow.

"Look at all this snow. I am almost positive someone's base is hiding around here. All we have to do is look for a relatively flat section. Come on Buford, follow me. I'll find something."

Buford shook his head because he knew that he would be searching for a while, but didn't interject because he just didn't feel like it. Heavily, he trailed after Baljeet who was already taking off.

After nearly an hour of cat and mouse, something came up.

"Hey Buford! Get over here, I found something!"

Baljeet's whiney voice made Buford cringe slightly, mostly from reflex. Several yards away with his nose to the ground, much like a dog, Buford lifted his head. The drum beat in his head played louder now, it was at first rhythmic and uniform, but now it had turned into a loud, pounding frenzy. The rest of the old tune picked up in intensity as well, but nothing stood out so much as the drum. He tried to ignore it while he walked over to where Baljeet was staring at something solid and besmirched in the snow.

"It looks like some sort of latch! I bet we found someone's base already!"

"God, I sure hope so… These drums are starting to hurt my head."

"Ugh, really Buford! Again with the drums?"

"Auughhh! Enough! Enough! Enough!" Buford clasped his head and cradled it gently, longing for the pain to subside. It consumed his thoughts and actions. He thrashed about in the snow, kicking and clawing around at the air.

Baljeet was frightened. "_This is not normal. What could be going on?"_

Then it got a lot worse. Baljeet blended in with the snow as his skin turned a pale, ghostly white. Buford had stood up and quit his thrashing, only to gaze off into the distance staidly. Baljeet also turned, still trying to comprehend what was going on. There was a figure, definitely a man, walking perpendicular to the direction they were looking in. The figure continued to walk hunched over, like he was stranded in a desert for several days, not noticing the two boys watching his every step. There was some quiet rattling behind them, but it was too soft for either to shift their gaze.

What ensued after that was blotted blur for both boys, but especially Baljeet. Baljeet felt a strong hand on his shoulder as an object covered his mouth and eyes, not a hand, but some sort of cloth. He was picked up and carried, his thrashing affectless and diminutive, to an undisclosed destination. It was clear in his head what had happened; they had been duped by another team.

Buford fared even worse, due to his massive size. The technique employed was swift and well practiced; Buford's legs were swept out from underneath him and he fell hard. He fell with such might that he felt like he could not move. Slowly, he began to be dragged away. All he could manage was a gasp for air before he felt the impulse to thrash around. However, because he was paralyzed, he could not move a muscle. The drums beat loudly, the urges were unsatisfiable, and Buford could only howl like a mad man. The howling rang throughout the surrounding area.

The dragging stopped. An eerie silence overcame everyone. The man on the horizon turned his head, but in the wrong direction.

Phineas had not seen the man as he was taking down Buford. A quick mental check with Isabella wouldn't hurt he figured.

"_Hey Izzy, did you happen to see a strange looking man with a lab coat near the hills?"_

_"No, never. What's taking you so long? Need some help?"_

Phineas could detect the slight mockery even though they weren't talking to each other physically. Then he became distracted with a new sensation in his head, particularly in his eyes. They seemed to buzz with energy, so much so that he was afraid to touch them.

"_Don't worry about it, that was just me. I see what you mean about the man..."_

_"Okay, but next time, can you please search my mind for what I had already seen, not what I was currently seeing? Whatever that was that you did, it was really strange."_

_"Sorry, no problem."_

Phineas turned his attention back to the action. The strange man was now looking directly at Phineas and Buford, but he remained still. The man pretended to straighten his sleeves, but the guise over his intent did not fool Phineas. What the man really had done was toss a very small black object into the snow. Then, shuffling his feet, he effectively buried it under the snow. A quick tap on his wristwatch and Phineas witnessed the man exit the game in the same style as the end of the first game.

Quickly, Phineas opened the latch in the ground and dragged Buford down it until he met up with Isabella.

"We... huff... have to... huff... find Ferb... huff..." came a panting Phineas, winded from dragging the hefty boy a considerable distance.

"Well, Phineas..." Isabella's melodic voice distracted Phineas.

"What?"

"Maybe that was all a distraction. A joke. Buford and Baljeet were right there."

Baljeet piped up sitting in one of the cages. "Oh, believe me, please. That was certainly no joke. Buford started to go berserk and kick and claw and howl madly. I was quite frightened. Then we saw the man walking; he had not noticed us. Then you two came out of nowhere..."

"Yeah, like I was saying, we have to find Ferb" concluded Phineas.

Phineas noticed a shadow moving along the wall and silently moved around the corner a step after Isabella.

"_It's probably Ferb, but we have to be careful. This is no longer a regular game."_

Phineas got the feeling that Isabella was assuming leadership. After a brief moment of dwelling he decided that he minded _a lot_.

Isabella's voice appeared in his conscience. "_I was hoping you wouldn't come down to this..."_ The thought was interrupted by a bellowing voice.

"Phineas! Anyone? This is Ferb speaking, please don't attack us. We need to talk. Hello?"

Phineas rushed around the corner and grabbed his brother, giving him a large hug. When Ferb pushed away a few seconds later, Phineas regained his composure and spoke. "Ferb, strange things are happening. There was this man-"

"I know, I know. Just calm down a second. Gretchen and I were on the other side of him, he spotted us first."

"_That would be why he looked away from us first. He must have thought Buford's howl was coming from Ferb and Gretchen. It frightened him into leaving us."_

Phineas agreed, but again found himself annoyed. "Look Ferb, I suggest that we end this game now and figure out what is going on with the machine. Why don't we vote? Everyone in favor of ending the game now raise their hand."

Everyone raised their hand.

"Well it's settled then."

"Phineas, how are we supposed to end this game right now?" asked Buford.

Phineas, seeing both Baljeet and Buford in cages dawned upon an idea. "Well, if we put you and Gretchen in cages as well, then we should win and the game will transport us out."

"_Nice analysis Phineas,"_ encouraged Isabella.

Promptly, the instructions were followed. Phineas closed up Ferb and Isabella locked Gretchen. Then they sat there, silently expectant, for sever moments.

"Nothing's happening..." muttered Phineas, "Nothing's going to happen either!" Phineas shook an empty cage violently, not caring in the slightest about who was watching.

"You're changing..." Isabella said softly. "Why are you doing these things?"

Phineas responded testily: "How could you even tell that I'm changing?"

Ferb stepped in and delivered the crushing blow. "How can we tell? Phineas! Listen to yourself! Isabella and I are the two people who have probably spent the most time with you! That's how we know! We can tell you are changing for worse, and we are going to call you out on it. We are doing this because we care about you. Because we love you. This is normally not you, something is certainly influencing you and we are not going to let it fly." After a pause for breath, he finished, "Our main priority is to get out of here, and we need full co-operation from everyone."

Isabella stepped by Phineas and lifted his hand reassuringly. He looked up at her, looked into her eyes, and searched them for meaning. Isabella gave her best sincere and sweet smile, and rejoiced inside when it was met with his own plus a chuckle.

"You guys are absolutely right. Forgive me, please."

Ferb wiped a drop of sweat from his brow before divulging the plan he had conjured in his mind. "Everyone, since this is obviously not working, we must ask ourselves why. My theory is that the machine is evolving itself. The only other two options are if someone is messing with the machine from the outside, or there was a glitch in the programming. Both of those should be thrown out immediately because nobody would want to mess with our machine or have the time to, and the game functioned perfectly the first time around.

Phineas, have you noticed the immense amount of detail that has been added to the landscape? There is a wind, and it blows the landscape like reality." Ferb changed his demeanor suddenly.

"Of course I could expound upon this for awhile, but we need to find that button."

Isabella was curious, but did not have to ask Ferb what he meant. She simply looked through Phineas's mind.

Ferb caught on a little, wondering why Isabella didn't ask him what button he meant. "Why didn't you ask? Surely Phineas hasn't told you about the button..."

"You are absolutely right. Phineas and I seem to be a little different than everyone else." Isabella tried to think of a way to express what she meant. "Basically, we share each other's thoughts, and can search one another's brain."

Ferb was not surprised in the slightest.

Baljeet wanted an explanation. "For those of us who are less fortunate and can't read people's minds, what are you all discussing?"

Phineas gave Ferb, who was not used to talking so much, a break by answering the question. "Ferb and I put a fail-safe in the game. A large red button that when each player presses, will directly cut the game off. Ferb and I pretty much hard-wired it to the machine so it would take some serious work to re-route the function. However, it is not impossible. If the machine shut off the normal exit, it can figure out a way to shut off the emergency. We must hurry!"

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone for reading, I hope you found it quite satisfactory :)<strong>

**Continue reading, and if you have any thoughts, comments, praise, or criticism, I will gladly accept them.**

**Once again thanks, and stay tuned.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back baby! Spring break is here and it is time to write some pure ownage. Yeah!**

**Reviews! (from way back in the day)**

**NeoPhisabella: Thanks a lot for the great review. I thought it was a good mix of action and drama.**

**BearerOfStupidity: Yeah, sorry for the wait. Although it may be confusing now, you'll totally get it later. I don't want to spoil anything. (Well, I do but I won't)**

**Mynamedoesntmatter(): Don't worry, I gotcha. A little early to guess how long it will be, but I'm thinking around 15-20 chapters. There's lots of plot left to go!**

**TheyCallMeLittleFoot: Great! I'll keep going as fast as I can.**

**Nice to see some new names, as well as older ones. Thank you four for the reviews as well as the others not mentioned.**

**Now onto the story...**

* * *

><p>Everybody was thinking it, but nobody wanted to admit it. The re-grouped competitors simply had no idea where to start. Phineas could sense that everyone was expecting him to be the leader of the group, a role which he reluctantly shouldered.<p>

"We start by pooling our resources together. Does anybody have any Rock on them? Isabella and I still have a little bit of ours."

"Well, could you let us out of these cages first? They aren't the most comfortable chairs around you know..." complained Buford.

"Oops, sorry about that." said Isabella apologetically. She went and released her friends immediately.

_"See, why can't I be more like that. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid..."_

"Ferb and I have some in our rocket shoes that he invented," Gretchen said as she pointed at Ferb.

"Rocket shoes are perfect! You see, there is a control room located directly in the center of the map. This is where the fail-safe is located, among other useful tools."

Phineas was noticeably shaking. Isabella took observance first, because she realized something had happened. She waited for him to speak.

"What happened to everyone? I feel like none of you are even here, although I see that physically, you are." Phineas turned to face Isabella. "Your mind, its presence is missing. I no longer am connected."

"Neither can I..." she mumbled sadly. Isabella was suddenly hit with a wave of depression. She knelt on the ground beside her love. Phineas knelt down with her and clutched her hand. He felt the spark dying between them.

"Phineas, I'm sure this is important but we must hurry!" pleaded Ferb.

Phineas pulled out his piece of Rock and threw it at Ferb. "Take it and go on without us. We don't really want to keep going."

"Yes, Phineas is right. Please go on without us, we wouldn't be of much help anyway."

The group was stunned, but Ferb had had enough. Baljeet felt now would be a good time to give Ferb his Rock piece. Ferb took it gratefully but did not speak. Silently he began walking to the Developer's room and motioned for the other three to follow.

"Ferb, are you sure you should be leaving them like that?"

"Gretchen, you know not how much it pains me to see them like that. But there is nothing that we can do for them now. It would be best for us all to move along. I know it seems harsh, and it is tempting to comfort them, but you are going to have to trust me. You are all going to have to trust me quite a bit."

Buford, Baljeet, and Gretchen understood. They knew very little in the grand scheme of the situation, and therefore had to rely on Ferb.

Ferb raised a finger in the air as a signal to wait. He placed the Rock on the table, placed his palm on the scanner and concentrated. Taking Phineas's suggestion, he made 2 more pairs of rocket shoes for Buford and Baljeet.

"Here," he said solemnly, "put these on quickly, for we leave about now."

Moving back into the room where Phineas and Isabella were, Ferb walked past his friend and his brother and used the supercomputer to find the center of the map. He did so quickly and skillfully, but without showing off or anything. Before he rejoined Buford, Baljeet and his favorite friend, he gave Phineas and Isabella a nod of assurance. It was not a nod of approval, and Phineas understood what was trying to be conveyed to him.

Isabella would not let them leave silently. "Bye guys, good luck. Maybe we will catch up to in a bit."

Buford held his gut with his hand. "Man, all of this talking is making me hungry!"

Baljeet raised an eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look.

"Well, I forget that we don't get hungry in this place, but if we did, I would be starving!"

The group departed up the ramp, trying not to laugh. As they left, all could hear the echo of Buford saying "What? I get hungry sometimes you know...

Ferb unlatched the hatch and climbed out. The landscape had changed since they had been there last. The sky was a dull red, with clouds of darkness covering the sun which had reached its pinnacle an hour ago.

With their new rocket shoes outfitted perfectly, they blasted off into the sky.

* * *

><p>Everything seemed normal from the outset as the team descended towards a pillbox-like structure about 3.5 meters tall with one wooden door. Gretchen held it open for everyone, and Ferb tipped his invisible hat to her. Inside the structure was one thing: a ladder, also made of old wood.<p>

"Come on, nothing to be afraid of here." Ferb said cheerily, although he struggled. He knew their lives were in danger. The ladder was long and dark, taking several minutes to climb to the very bottom. However, when they got there, they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

There was only one room, but it was extensively large. The walls were made of very thick glass, and there was water on the other side giving the room an eerie, dark, and sad feel too it. Many machines with lights and buttons littered the floor in a very unorganized fashion.

"I bring you my friends, the ultimate control room! You can manipulate the game's state in any way want just about."

Gretchen reminded Ferb why they were there. "Let's get right to that button, okay Ferb?"

Ferb hopped around nervously, searching for the magic button. At last he found it around the side of one of the machines.

"Ah ha! Here we are. I never thought that we would have to use this thing, so here goes."

Ferb cracked his knuckles while the others gathered around him to peek over his shoulder and watch what he was doing. He pressed the button. Metal walls slid over the glass, eliminating the incoming light. Red pulse lights activated on the inside, intensifying the anticipation. A slit opened on the machine revealing a keyboard and monitor. The monitor had 12 buttons on it aligned in a 4X3 grid. Each button had a letter or symbol in it. Ferb ignored the keyboard and touched the monitor directly, pressing the keys ȴ, Ǿ, ɀ, ʧ, Ϣ, ϫ, Җ, and ﭶ. A dialogue appeared in deep green letters. "_Are you sure you want to initiate operation 0?"_ Ferb selected the _yes_ option without hesitation. The monitor went to a new screen with a single name on it. Ferb staggered back and crashed into somebody, almost knocking them over.

"It can't be... God, we have a problem."

Baljeet looked at the name he didn't recognize, trying to understand or be helpful. He simply had no idea who the heck _Doofenshmirtz_ was. "So this screen lists all of the active players and asks you who you want to remove? Why aren't we on there? Is it a glitch?"

"No, it is not a glitch. That person is messing with our machine. It is most certainly that man we all saw."

Buford vomited on the floor. "Auggh, huff, guys... I don't feel too good. Pizza... or something. It's okay though, I'll live. I just, augh, need to go sit down over there."

Ferb ignored him, he knew weird things were going to begin to occur.

Baljeet went and sat next to his bully friend Buford. Ferb observed the defeated look he projected.

Next, Gretchen became genuinely scared. She shook and was chilled to the core. In a pathetic sounding voice she asked, "What is going to happen to us?"

Ferb knew better than to let his emotions get manipulated by the machine. Or was it the machine? He couldn't believe that doubted himself. To trust himself, he explained to the group what he knew about the machine's workings.

"The machine works in an unusual manner and is very complicated. We are not real. We are practically robots, but not quite. We are human replicas of ourselves. The first stage of entering the game is copying your DNA and personality. The DNA part was easy, it was the personality that tricked us. That is until we found the soul. You see, the soul is a central part of the brain. It is linked to all non-vital signals and is shaped based on every electrical pattern that goes through it. The shape of it also changes the outcome of the electrical signals. That explains why people react to things differently."

"Sounds confusing..." uttered Buford.

"Wait, it gets better. The machine takes your soul and replaces it with a very similar one. It is fairly good at replicating it, but it is not perfect." Suddenly, Ferb's eyes lit up, then sunk down. "I understand now. Anyway, your real soul is put into the replica body and all is well. However, now that we have been erased from the game, our game bodies have lost their souls. Deleted from the machine entirely. Our game bodies however, thought that they have not yet received a soul yet and took the one from your real body. Therefore, we are all carrying the imperfect souls created by the machine and are hence experiencing abnormalities such as random vomiting. Our real souls are gone entirely."

Gretchen seemed to be returning to her normal self for the time being. "Wait, so you mean that our real bodies have no souls in them? Does that mean they are dead?"

Ferb sighed. "They are not dead because the soul is not part of the vital systems. They will however, be essentially brain dead."

"Bummer..." mumbled Baljeet.

"How do we change this? Fix it? Is it possible?" There was a slight pause. "Is it possible!" Gretchen was exasperated.

Ferb had no idea. His only response came short of breath. "Oh god, what have we gotten ourselves into?"

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><p><strong>Gosh, even i need to sit and think this stuff straight. I hope you all liked the story. Questions? Please ask! I will explain as best as I possibly can. Thank god for spring break. I hope to have you all reading the next chapter ASAP. Thank you!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for taking so long.**

**Heres a recap if you need it.**

**AFter the first game is finished, a second one begins. There are 3 teams of 2. Not long after the start, the players notice that things are not going as they should be. Fear really sets in after mysterious man is found walking in the tundra. The group tries to exit the game, but are unable. The plan is to head to the center of the map where there is a control system and a failsafe.**

As soon as Phineas and Isabella heard the hatch close behind their friends, and a few minutes of silence passed, Phineas could not help but wonder what the heck they were doing. They had decided to let their friends go on a dangerous adventure while sitting back and doing absolutely nothing. It was that moment that Phineas realized just how much respect he had for his brother Ferb. Time to step up and return the favors; Isabella and their relationship can wait.

"Um... Isabella, I think," Phineas was cut off.

Isabella gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, I'm in. What's the plan?" Phineas was a slight bit confused, and looked at her quizzically. "I know you want to help them; that is who you are."

Phineas nodded to the compliment. He respected her too, but now he had to think. "We are all in danger even though we don't seem to really realize it. We know that Ferb, Baljeet, Buford, and Gretchen are all heading to the center of the map right now with every ounce of rock we all had. They should reach the destination rather quickly. Ferb will essentially take over." Phineas stood up and started pacing. Isabella knew that mood. It was hit or miss time for ideas.

Isabella tried to bounce ideas, get him into the rhythm of thinking, of brilliance, of anything. "What about that man? You know, the one with the strange coat?"

An idea sparked. "Hey, you might be onto something there. Remember, he dropped that block object in the snow and buried it. Then he left the arena. I would bet you that he is coming back, and that box is..."

"A marker!" finished Isabella. "He will be coming back at that spot. We could wait around by it and if he does come back, we could disable and question him.

"Hmmmm... A bit risky indeed, but perhaps we will have no other chance." Phineas scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Of course it will never work. If the man left the arena, which we anticipate that he did, then time will not be slowed down for him. A minute for him in the real world is an entire day for us in here. We don't seem to have a day to wait, Isabella."

"Well, we can't do nothing about him. What if he comes back while we are busy? He would be free to sabotage anything we had completed. I suggest we move the marker."

"Ahhhh, very clever. I like it." Phineas motioned toward the corridor that led to the surface hatch. "Let's go find that marker."

It didn't take them very long to find it. It was buried under an inch of snow in the only place where the snow was disturbed within 150 feet. The object was indeed a small black and blue box that very much looked like Rock. No lights, no cameras, and certainly no action. After a quick trek back into the base, Phineas placed the marker carefully in one of the cages and locked it.

"That ought to do it for now. We should hurry up and find the rest of our group."

Isabella smiled sweetly to Phineas. "No use to them we would be, remember?"

Phineas chuckled in an unusual manner. He remembered what his excuse for staying behind was. "_Ridiculous_," he thought. Then he responded aloud. "We have time for jokes now?"

Isabella's expression changed to reveal a more serious look. "You're right. Now come on, lead the way."

Phineas took it as a command and jogged up the ramp, Isabella one step behind him.

* * *

><p>The control room was still pulsing its eerie red lights. It was very discomforting to the group, so they temporarily relocated to the pillbox-like structure on the surface. Buford leaned up against the side of the stone, very ill. Even an hour's worth of rest he wasn't feeling himself. Baljeet, his Nerd, sat somewhat next to him. He was just far enough away too avoid any splatters of vomit and certainly avoid the stench. He held his head calmly and tried to think. It was difficult to do. His mind simply wandered. Eventually he gave up and let his thoughts run where they pleased. As for Ferb, he paced back and forth in long struts, his head hung down. He stared at the footprints that he was making longingly, as if they would give him the answer to their problems. Lastly, Gretchen sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, admiring the wonderful scenery. They were back in the meadows and plains, a terrain very similar to the one beneath their base. She remembered the journey that she and Ferb had as they descended to the ground. It was a nice thought.<p>

Gretchen heard crunching sounds behind her, the sound of footsteps. She stood up slowly and looked around the side of the tree. Sure enough, Isabella and Phineas were walking toward her. She examined their body language. They walked at a fast pace, muscles tensed, and shot skeptic glances around occasionally. They were worried, scared.

At the sight of Gretchen Isabella was relieved. _"Good, everyone is safe and present."_ Naturally, Isabella met Gretchen while Phineas strayed off and greeted Ferb.

"Isabella!" squealed Gretchen. She ran up to Isabella and embraced her warmly. "Are you feeling all right? You two had me worried. Well, there are lots of things that are worrying me right now." She paused and cast her stare in the direction of Phineas and Ferb.

Isabella used the pause to explain herself. "We are both fine," she said softly. Isabella thought about what Gretchen had said. "Phineas and I are worried too." Another pause.

Gretchen sighed. "I wish there was something we could do. That is, I mean, besides encourage our, erm, _friends._ Another pause. Things were getting awkward. "Perhaps we should see if they need help," offered Gretchen.

Isabella would have agreed immediately, but she maintained excellent composure. "No, we must help them the best we can, and that includes giving them some space." Gretchen nodded in agreement. She was right, of course. Or so they hoped.

* * *

><p>Ferb was finding it hard to concentrate. Every time he tried, his willpower seemed to evaporate into the air around him. He growing increasingly frustrated, yet he would not give up. As he looked up, a smile grew upon him. Help was at hand. Ferb extended a hand and greeted Phineas formally. "Great to see you again. What have you found out so far?"<p>

Phineas swallowed hard. Straight to business. There were tough times ahead. "Not much really... Isabella and I found a small black box that was left by the man."

A mental image flashed in Ferb's mind. It was one word: Doofenshmirtz.

Phineas continued. "We decided it was a location marker and locked it in a cage, in case he returned." Clearly not content with the amount of info he provide, Phineas cleared his throat. "I take it you were more successful here?"

Ferb perked up. Yes, he had found out quite a bit. "Here allow me to show you," he said as he gestured to the pillbox structure.

Inside, Ferb re-activated the com-screen and showed Phineas the active players list. It still read Doofenshmirtz. No one else.

Phineas felt like cursing. He was tricked! The mysterious man simply moved locations, not exited the game. The box was a distraction and nothing more. They had wasted potentially valuable time.

While Phineas was fuming, Ferb continued to expound upon his knowledge. "I knew dealing with the souls would be dangerous. We should never have tried, but here is what I think. That man has reset the player list, which caused our bodies to take the souls from our real -life counterparts." Ferb gave Phineas a moment to process the information.

Emotionless, Phineas spoke. "We are using the imperfect replicated souls currently?" Ferb nodded. It made sense. "Then our real souls have been deleted entirely?" Another nod.

Neither of them were worried, but long hours of work were ahead.

"I take it we still have full access and functionality? asked Phineas.

Ferb opened up the scripting environment on the com-screen. "It's all yours," he said with a smile. "I'll be up distracting the others so you can have some thinking space." He skipped up and was gone before Phineas had a chance to protest.

"That dirty player..." he said bitterly. After a moment he chuckled, his good nature having returned.

* * *

><p>It had turned night now and darkness swept over the land unlike any other the group had seen. The only light came from the moon which was about three quarters of the way full.<p>

"Maybe we should go check on him. It couldn't hurt..."

Everyone rolled their eyes. That was at least the 10th time they had heard Isabella make that suggestion.

Ferb explained the situation for at least the tenth time. "Nothing escapes the memory of this machine. Our "deleted" souls lie somewhere amid masses of other used information. I imagine Phineas has found what he is looking for and is preparing the player list and the transfer of souls."

"I see..." lied Isabella. She made a motion for the ladder. Nobody stopped her, and therefore built her confidence. She climbed down the dark ladder. At the bottom she noticed the pulsing red lights were replaced with standard lighting.

There, a little ways in the room, was Phineas. Their eyes met across the room and they immediately felt calm and secure.

Isabella spoke as she walked over to where Phineas was sitting. "I... I was worried about you. You have been down here an awful long time, you know.

"I know, and I'm sorry for putting everyone through this."

She looked into his eyes and saw that it was true, but she also saw that he was confident that he could make things right. It was at that moment she pulled him close and kissed him. It wasn't anything too special, but they each felt like they were the only two people in the world.

"I know you want to help and make things right; that is who you are," she said softly.

Phineas remembered those words. He was certain that he had heard them before.

"You've come at a good time. I finished about 10 minutes before you came. Everything is set up. We will have our absolutely true personalities and souls back." He couldn't help a triumphant smile. "Care to do the honors?" he asked as he extended his hand.

She gladly accepted. A hefty grin on her face, she leaned over and pressed _execute_.

The code was executed and the game state altered. Technically, it happened as fast as the machine could process the complicated commands. However, to the players, the mental journey lasted several minutes. They still had the memories of the past hours but looked on them with a new perspective. Everything simply "fit" and felt "right".

That is, however, until their minds shut down from the mental overhaul and then passed out of consciousness.

Phineas wasn't sure how long he was out, but he felt glad to be awake again. He rested his head and went through his memories before he opened his eyes. When he did, he wished that he hadn't. He was still in the pillbox structure.

"_Something went wrong. Not good."_

He staggered to his feat, using the equipment around him for support. "_This is not how things were supposed to go. The first part was the soul. That's checked. We should have exited the game."_

He looked on the com-screen to see if it would give any sort of hint as to what went wrong. When he looked, he was shocked at what he saw. The screen showed one sentence: "Can't let you do that I'm afraid..." The computer was not letting them exit the game because it knew that it was about to be shut off. The computer had developed a sense of survival and was willing to prevent its creators from turning it off.

"If it's a fight this thing wants, then we'll give it a fight," growled Phineas.


	6. Chapter 6

"Phineas! Isabella!" a voice shouted from the surface. "You guys okay?"

Phineas hadn't even thought to check on Isabella. He quickly looked around and located her. She appeared to be slowly waking up, so he rolled her onto her back and sat her up. Meanwhile, Ferb and Gretchen had descended the ladder quickly and skillfully. They hurried over to where Phineas and Isabella were.

"What's going on here?" asked Gretchen impatiently.

Phineas was ready. "The machine rejected some of my commands. We were all supposed to exit immediately. However, it seems that it doesn't want us to exit the game and shut it off." He noticed Ferb was skeptical of his story. "This is the first thing I saw when I woke up." Phineas pointed at the com-screen.

_Can't let you do that..._

It wasn't enough for Ferb. "How could this have happened? It doesn't even make sense. What we need is some time to figure out exactly what is happening here."

From behind, Isabella jolted awake. She scanned the room, her heart racing. She was relieved to find her friends, minus 2, were beside her.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are we still here?" she asked innocently. Specifically addressing Phineas, she asked, "What happened?"

"I don't really know..." he mutely replied.

By the stairs, a figure spoke. A tall, hunched figure, to be precise. "Perhaps I could answer that question." He shook his head. "Though, it is a shame you kids had to get involved in all of this..."

Shock.

"It's him!"  
>"Not again..."<br>"Why now, of all times?"  
>"We're unarmed!"<p>

"... but you don't seem to know what incredible acts of evil I could perform with such a powerful machine!"

_"Acts of evil?" wondered Phineas, "What could he possibly use this for?"_ He wished that he had some knowledge that he could outsmart this man with, but he was sure that this man was behind all of their problems. He seemed to be able to manipulate the machine with skill and precision. Maybe he could be negotiated with.

"You are a foolish man. You have corrupted this machine and compromised its integrity. All of our lives are in danger."

The man threw back his head and laughed so devilishly that it made their skin crawl. "I think not. You see, I am the only one in complete control of this machine now." Then he added, "And my name is Dr. Doofenshmirtz."

The man snapped his fingers together. A countdown appeared on every monitor in the room. 200 seconds. The man snapped his fingers again. 199 seconds. 198, 197, 196. The countdown had started, but for what?

"In about 200 seconds this entire place will violently explode. Thanks to Mr. Phineas here, you will all be helplessly paralyzed," he said with a sly smile. He appeared to be enjoying himself immensely.

172 seconds.

Phineas tried to calm himself. Multiple things were at stake: HIs life, his friends' lives, and his reputation.

The man was speaking again, but Phineas tried to ignore him for a moment. It didn't work because he was spewing lies left and right.

"I say thanks to him because he has been my accomplice this whole time."

Phineas was dumbfounded. He couldn't even speak for a moment. "That's a lie!" spat Phineas and Isabella simultaneously.

157 seconds. When Phineas looked up at the countdown the truth hit him. He was being distracted.

Still, the doctor kept going. "He made all of you players and therefore, you will all be affected by the rules." Then he added with a smile, "My rules."

"Shut up already!" ordered Isabella. Then she turned to Phineas, all of the doctor's words apparently having bounced off of her. "What do we do? I know you having something in that brain of yours."

139 seconds left. There were two options. Get rid of Doofenshmirtz or escape through the emergency hatch. He would try option 1 first and then option 2 if necessary. They were unarmed, but not for long. In a nearby drawer there was a whole stash of Rock and a developer's table on top. The lock had already been busted off of the drawer. The doctor was already here. He whipped up a weapon and fired.

A laser burst travelled across the room. The doctor was not amused, but made no movement for cover. At last, the burst hit a barrier one foot in front of him and fizzled out.

110 seconds remained. A waste of time.

"Yawn. Just as I anticipated. Hey, I know! Why don't you guys try using the emergency exit? I hope it isn't full of traps!"

A straight revelation of their ace in the hole. Once again, Doofenshmirtz held all the cards. He was in complete control. They were trapped. More time had to be used for thinking.

87 seconds. Just over a minute.

Phineas consulted his friends. "Do we have any ideas? Anything? Please?" They all looked thoughtfully in the distance. The master planner, Ferb, had an idea.

"We could try and use the Rock in the drawer to create some sort of protective sphere around us. There is enough Rock to make the sphere withstand most blasts."

It was worth a shot. Ferb placed the Rock on the table and his hand on the scanner. He envisioned the creation he wished to see. He felt that something was wrong. There was no power.

"Awwww... Did the table go out on you?" mocked the doctor. "Oops, that might have been me."

42 seconds left. More time wasted. Frustration was building.

"Perhaps we should try and de-activate the booby-traps set in the escape hatch," suggested Gretchen. "What other options do we have?" she said with shrugged shoulders.

Everyone huddled close so that the doctor could not hear.

"I think that that is exactly what he wants us to do because..." but the sentence didn't go any further. It was interrupted by a loud whooping that came from the main hatch, near the doctor.

It was, of course, Buford. He slid down the ladder and landed on top of the doctor. Except that he didn't land on him, he landed in him. It was fake.

"A projection!" roared Phineas. "_Of course! He had the projection there to try and goad us into trying the escape hatch._ 28 seconds. "Hurry Buford! There is an invisible wall in front of you! See if you can break it down for us!"

Without word or any sign that he had heard them, Buford tightened his core, lowered his shoulder, and charged with as much power as he could muster. His first collision was unsuccessful. The energy was absorbed by the force field and Buford was sent back on his rear.

"Try spreading out yourself as you make contact. The spread out energy might overload its circuits."

Buford tried again, his eyes glazed with determination. This time he was successful. The wall shattered into colored shards that made clinking sounds as residual sparks flickered out.

16 seconds. They all made a break for it. The ladies went first, followed by Ferb, Buford, and Phineas who had just scooped their pockets full of Rock. It was a race to the surface. Baljeet's head was poking out over the top of the ladder and open hatch. The first made it up with 6 seconds remaining. One by one they made it out and scrambled away.

Then time was up. The structure exploded dramatically, fire rising up 20 feet over the structure. Blocks of stone turned into unmanned missiles as they flew apart. The ground shook with might and the noise was brutal on their eardrums. All in all, it was quite a show.

They regrouped together, bracing for the worst. It seemed that the machine wasn't controlling itself, there was actually someone doing the controlling.

Everyone was accounted for, except one: Phineas. He had not made it out in time. What they all just witnessed, Phineas had experienced and was now buried under mounds of rubble, utterly paralyzed.

Several spines shivered from the horror they just witnessed.

**Thanks a lot for reading everyone! Review if you please, I always appreciate it.**

**Oh, and I have a new story I am starting very soon so look for that as well. Its going to be really cool.**


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